About This Book
What Is Apple Remote Desktop?
Apple Remote Desktop is easy-to-use, powerful, open standards-based, desktop
management software for all your networked Macs. IT professionals can remotely
control and configure systems, install software, offer interactive online help to end
users, and assemble detailed software and hardware reports for an entire Mac network.
You can use Apple Remote Desktop to:
 Manage client computers and maintain, update, and distribute software
 Collect more than 200 system-information attributes for any Mac on your network
 Store the results in an SQL database and view the information using any of several
hardware or software reports
 Control and manage multiple computer systems simultaneously, making shutdown,
restart, and sending UNIX commands fast and easy
 Provide help and remote assistance to users when they encounter problems
 Interact with users by sending text messages, observing and controlling users’
screens, and sharing their screens with other client users
You can use Apple Remote Desktop to manage your client systems. IT administrators
use Remote Desktop in education and business to simplify and empower the
management of their organizations computer assets. For system administrators,
Apple Remote Desktop can be used to administer large numbers of servers, like a
virtual Keyboard-Video-Mouse (KVM) sharing unit. In computer administration
environments, it’s the ideal solution for managing remote systems, reducing
administration costs, and increasing productivity.
Apple Remote Desktop can also be used by educators to facilitate instruction in
computer labs or one-on-one learning initiatives. Used in a classroom, Apple Remote
Desktop enhances the learning experience and allows teachers to monitor and control
students’ computers.
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Preface
About This Book